With a stroke of a hand, the weighty money worries that have been plaguing the rest of us -- rising gas and food prices, mortgage payments and soaring credit card bills -- instantly and blissfully melted away for Gary Owens.

Owens, 58, of Ravena, scratched off a lucky ticket April 18th to find he had won a spectacular $10 million prize.

"Winning $10 million was a little shocking at first," said Owens, a retired GE engineer. "I don't think it has really sunk in yet."

Even luckier? When he bought the Win for Life Spectacular scratch-off ticket at the J & B Deli and Pizza on Route 9W in Ravena, Owens never intended to buy the winning ticket.

He says he went in to buy his usual ticket -- the $500 Million Extravaganza -- but because there were none left, he settled on Spectacular instead.

Owens is the first Albany County Lottery player to claim a prize of $1 million or more so far this year, and his $10 million prize is the richest cash prize ever awarded to an Albany County scratch-off winner.

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